Car-coupling



(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. L. BRADDOGK.

CAR COUPLING.

N0. 384,606. Patented June 19, 1888.

Pig.

Inve nt or I Witnesses (No Model.) LSheets-Sheet 2.

W. L. BRAD DOGK.

OAR COUPLING.

No. 384,606 Patented June 19, 1888.

Witnesses Inventor iJNrTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WARREN L. BRADDOOK, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOT. B. SARGEANT, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,606, dated June 19,1888.

Application filed November 24, 1886. Renewed March 2, 1888. Serial No.266,008. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WARREN L. BRADDOOK, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Oar-Couplings, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to link-and-pin couplers for railroad-cars, andhas for its object, first, to provide an improved device for supportingthe pin in a raised position prior to the insertion of the link and forsupporting the link in a substantially horizontal position when it isengaged with only one draw-head, so that it will properly enter theother draw-head.

The invention also has for its object to provide improved means forwithdrawing the coupling-pin from the link-receiving chamber of thedraw-head and for holding said pin so that it cannot enter said chamber.

The invention also has for its object to provide an independent devicewhereby the projecting end of a link engaged with one drawhead only maybe raised and thus caused to properly enter the other draw-head.

To these ends the invention consists in the improvements which I willnow proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my improved coupling, the pinbeing in place to hold the link. Fig. 2 represents a similar view, thepin being raised.

Fig. 3 represents a section on line :0 00, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4. represents a section on line 3/ y, Fig. 2. Figs. 5, 6, and 7represent perspective views showing details. Figs. 8, 9, and 10represent a modification.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, a represents the draw-bar suitably attached to the car,and having in its head the chamber 1), which is open at the bottom ofthe head, save where its continuity is 'broken by a bridge, 0, extendingacross said chamber, and containing an orifice, d, which receives thelower end of the coupling-pin e when the latter is in place to hold thelink, the upper portion of the draw-head having a pin orifice, d. Theupper surface of said bridge is inclined upwardly from its forward andrear edges to its center, the forward incline serving to raise the endof the entering link.

f represents a curved lever, which is pivoted at g to ears on the lowerside of the draw-bar. One arm of said lever projects upwardly behind thebridge 0 into the chamber 1), while the other arm projects forward andupward into said chamber in front of said bridge, the forward end of thelast-named arm being provided with a laterally-extended head, f, whichis adapted to support the link h in the position shown in Fig. 3 whenthe link is engaged by the coupling-pin. Said head has a beveled surfaceadapted to guide the entering link upwardly to the bridge 0. The lever fis so formed and its weight is so disposed as that normally its rear armwill stand in position to support the coupling-pin in a raised position,as shown in Fig. 4, said arm being in position to be struck by the endof a link entering the draw-head and forced back by said link, thusreleasing the pin and allowing it to drop into the link. When thepin-supporting arm is thus forced back, the lever fis held by thecoupling-pin in such position that its forward arm is capable ofsupporting the link in an approximately horizontal position, as shown inFig. 3.

h represents a horizontal rod or shift journaled in suitable eyes orbearings, z, affixed to the end of the car. Said rod extends nearly orquite across the end of the car, and is bent at its ends to form handlesit h, whereby it may be turned by a person standing at either side ofthe car.

To the rod h are affixed two arms or levers,

jj, the outer ends of which are jointed to a yoke, k, which passesthrough an eye in the upper end of the coupling-pin. seen, therefore,that when the rod h is turned so as to elevate the leversjj the yoke kand pin 6 are correspondingly elevated, the pin being thuswithdrawn-from the link-receiving chamber of the draw-head, so that theleverf can swing under and support said pin.

Z represents a vertical rod adapted to slide in eyes or guides attachedto the end of the car, and provided at its lower end with aloop, m,through which passes one of the levers The upper end of said rod has ahandle, it,

It will be ICO which may be grasped by a person on the top of the car.The engagement of the rod Z with one of the armsj of the rod 7:. enablesan upward movement of said rod Zto raise the coupling-pin. It will beseen, therefore, that provision is made for uncoupling from either sideor from the top of the car.

Vhen it is desirable to hold the couplingpin in an elevated position, sothat it will not fall when the leverfis forced from under it, a stud, 0,on the inner end of one of the lovers is engaged with a notch, 12,formed in one of the bearings 2', which support the rod 71, saidengagement being effected by moving the rod h endwise while its arms arein the position shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, the stud 0 being thus pushedinto the notch p and held so that the levers j j cannot turn downwardly.

The endwise movement of the red It may be effected by a person graspingeither of the handles of the rod, or by a person on the top of the cargrasping the rod 1. The upper guide, F, of said rod Z is elongated, soas to permit the rod to move laterally in it, while the lower guide, Z,closely surrounds said rod and acts as a fulcrum. The rod Z maytherefore be caused to act as a lever to move the rod h endwise, as willbe readily seen.

In Figs. 8, 9, and 10 Ihave shown a modification in which the forwardarm of the lever fis notched or hooked, so that a link may be hung uponit, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. An arm, q, is pivoted to an ear orsupport on the under side of the draw-head, said arm being at one sideof the draw-head, so that it can swing freely up and down. A rod, 1", isjournaled in a bracket, 8, attached to the under side of the ear, and isprovided with an arm or crank, i, which bears against the underside ofthe arm q.

it represents an arm which is rigidly attached to the arm q, and isformed to bear against the link and raise the same to a horizontalposition, as shown in Fig. 10, when the rod 0' is turned by a personstanding at the side of the car grasping the handle on the outer end ofsaid rod, or by a person on the roof of the car grasping a vertical rod,7', which has a loop, 1", at its lower end receiving the arm t. Anattendant at the side or on the top of the car can therefore raise theouter end of the link and hold it in position to enter the draw-head ofanother car without exposing himself to danger by going between thecars. The arm 1 is formed so that when it is raised, as shown in Fig.10, its swinging end will engage with one of the leversj, and will beheld by said lever in the position shown in Fig. 10 until the draw-headis struck and forced back by an opposing draw-hcad. The slight yieldingmotion of the draw-head thus caused disengages the arm q from the leverjand allows said arm and the arm a to drop.

The draw-bar has a longitudinal slot, A, which contains a sliding box,B, through which passes a cylindrical axle or trunnion, C, which isjournaled in timbers or blocks D D, secured to the car at either side ofthe draw-bar. The box B is capable of turning on said axle, so that thedraw-bar may be slightly inclined to raise or lower its outer end orhead. Said head is supported by a strap, F, attached to the car andextending across the under side of the draw-bar. The strap may be madevertically adjustable to hold the draw-head at any height within therange of its adjustability. To prevent the axle G from being movedendwise, I provide stops H, attached to the outer sides of the beams D Dand bearing on the ends of the axle. Said stops are pivotally attached,so that they can be swung away from the ends of the axle to permit theremoval of the latter. The axle O is movable lengthwise in the block 13,so that when said stops H are removed the axle may be withdrawn from theblock B and from the timbers D D, thus disconnecting the draw-bar fromsaid timbers.

I I represent springs, which are interposed between the block B and theends of the slot A in the draw-bar and give the draw-bar the usualendwise yielding movement.

I claim- 1. The draw-bar having the chamber 1), and the pin-receivingorifices cl d, communicating with said chamber, combined with the curvedlever f, pivoted to the lower portion of the draw-bar, and having an armextending upwardly from the pivot and adapted to support thecoupling-pin, and another arm extending forward from the first andadapted to support the link, as set forth.

2. The combination of the draw-bar, the pivoted lever f, formed asdescribed, the coupling-pin c, the yoke 70, engaged with said pin, andthe rod 72, having armsjj, engaged with the ends of said yoke, as setforth.

3. The combination of the draw-bar, thepivoted lever f, the yoke k, thelongitudinallymovable rod 71, having the arms j j, engaged with theyoke, and the stud 0, and the fixed bearing 2', having a notch orgroove, 1;, adapted to receive said stud and hold the rod with the pinin a raised position, as set forth.

4. The combination of the drawbar, the pivoted lever f, the pin 6, theyoke k, engaged with the pin, the red It, having the arms jj, engagedwith the yoke, and the vertical rod 6, having the loop an, engaged withone of the armsj, as set forth.

5. The combination of the draw-bar, the pivoted lever, the pin and theoperating devices therefor, the arm q, pivoted below the drawbar andhaving the link-supporting arm u, and the rod r, having the crank 1,adapted to operate the arms q u, as set forth.

6. The combination of the draw-bar having the leverf, the pin 0, thelongitudinally-movable rod h, connected, as described, to said pin andprovided with the stud 0, the bearing having a groove to receive saidstud and lock the pin in a raised position, and the vertical sliding rodZ, having a fulcrum upon which it may IOC be turned to move the rod hendwise, as set forth.

7. The combination of the draw-bar having the slot, the slidingbearing-block therein, the 5 beams or supports, and the cylindrical axlejournaled and movable lengthwise in .said beams and block, and the strapsupporting the forward end of the draw-bar, as set forth.

8. The combination of the draw-bar having IO the slot, the slidingbearing-block therein, the

beams or supports, the cylindrical axle journaled and movable lengthwisein said beams and block, the strap supporting the forward end of thedraw-bar, and the removable stops bearing against the ends of the axle,as set I 5 forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 15th day of November, 1886.

WARREN L. BRADDOOK. Witnesses:

' G. F. BROWN,

A. D. HARRISON.

